An 18-year-old has become the fourth teenager arrested in the killing of a north Fort Worth woman, a case that has been winding through the courts since late last year and rattling a tight circle of family and friends.
Fort Worth police identified the latest suspect as 18-year-old Jerry Lira, who was booked into the Fort Worth city jail and later transferred to the Tarrant County Jail, according to the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. Detectives arrested Lira yesterday after developing evidence that they say links him to the November shooting, the paper reported. Authorities have released few details about what that evidence is or what they believe the motive may have been.
The shooting unfolded on Nov. 20, 2025, when officers were dispatched around 6:30 p.m. to a home in the 2500 block of Northwest 24th Street. They arrived to find two women with gunshot wounds; 40-year-old Elizabeth Ann Juarez was pronounced dead at the scene, while the second woman was treated for a non-life-threatening injury, according to The Dallas Morning News. Investigators said Juarez was shot in a front bedroom, and homicide detectives have led the probe since.
Three other suspects had already been taken into custody before Lira’s arrest: 17-year-old Rafael Gallardo, 19-year-old Obed Torres and 19-year-old Miguel Moran, the Fort Worth Star-Telegram reported. Court records cited by the outlet show Gallardo and Torres are being held on $300,000 bonds, while Moran was released after posting bond.
Family Remembers Juarez
In the months since the shooting, Juarez’s family has tried to capture who she was beyond the crime statistics. An online fundraiser describes her as warm and generous, saying she “brought light everywhere she went,” according to the GoFundMe page. The fundraiser seeks help with funeral and memorial expenses as relatives work through their grief.
Next steps
The case remains active in the Tarrant County court system, where prosecutors and judges are expected to set additional hearings and consider formal filings in the coming weeks. Police have asked anyone with information or video related to the November shooting to contact Fort Worth homicide detectives, according to The Dallas Morning News.
